quickly become a popular parlour game cutback in supplies of crude to its expected, partly under pressure from prospect.
world oil industry is bound to create later this year to make up for their world. example, Petroleum, which gets the bulk of its oil crisis. from Iran has announced a 45 per cent "shortages' are also manipumade up its 14 per cent shortfall out of But as well as being an oil producer, his Britain is a member of the International tiny Energy Agency, a consumers' cartel. created by the stoppage of Iranian oil IEA rules require that before more oil usually gives a pointer to future OPEC more can be kept for domestic use Britain pricesrises.
amount as the short fall in supplies from The oil companies are happy with The this, since it keeps their profits up. The American workers for the fact that the price of gold shot up and the dollar fell poor British consumer was simply told government wants to put prices up.
to blame it on bloody-minded tanker for shortages two unpalatable measures. number at the US Treasury, Michael things have protected the capitalist used to explain the 1974-75 recession First, there is the safety margin circulation leading to a contraction of operated by the oil consumers. World demand calculated stocks always have at least 90 days' oil industrialised countries. the moment they probably have 20 days more than that.
Secondly, Saudi Arabia has been between rich and poor countries. prepared to make up a large part of the Political and dependence on the US has always made Saudi Arabia the most 'moderate of But it was always inevitable that the was a redistribution of surplus value up elsewhere, the dislocation of the Saudis would have to cut production among different sectors of the capitalist British increased output during the Iranian The cut has come sooner OPE militants', who see the shortage as a chance for a price rise on top of last October's moderate increase.
Oil prices on the open market have markets shot up to as high as $22 a barrel (compared to the usual $13-14). Only a percentage of the oil trade is • conducted on this 'spot market' but it However, the use of the oil crisis scare at this moment is a deliberate political move. Schlesinger's statement last week was designed to prepare The 'greedy Arabs theory is useful getting workers LU It was widely The argument was that the famous "petrodollars"
and production in explanation was the idea that the 1974 crisis was a redistribution of wealth The entire argument rested on a fals military assumption. The petrodollars did not disappear into the vaults of Riyadh but were pumped back into the world financial system. What was happening not a simple rerun of that economic crisis but a far gloomier Khomeini's plan production is no longer seen as the main threat. What now scares the financial and the boardrooms is the What worries James Schlesinger is themselves conjured up in 1974 - the political turning off the taps.
In 1974 for reducing oil bogey that they *third world' taking its revenge by this was a propaganda exercise. In 1979, with the imperialist hold on Iran weaker than ever, the people could seize the oilfields and make it a joyful reality.